A trip down memory lane
by weirdgrammar
Summary: Seirin decides to hang out after their practice. And, somehow, their actions bring Kuroko back lots of good memories when he was in Teikou. Kuroko's b-day fic. Happy belated birthday, Kuroko.


**TITLE: **A trip down memory lane.

**DISCLAIMER:** Fujimaki Tadotoshi.

**WARNING: **Certainly, NOT yaoi.

**CHARACTERS: **Seirin/Kuroko Tetsuya/Kiseki no Sedai.

* * *

"Hey, let's go to the convenience store!" Koganei excitedly throws his hands up and spins on his heels. His suggestion receives positive reactions from his teammates.

"What a great idea," the coach, Aida Riko, rubs her chin thoughtfully. "We should reward ourselves for successfully following my training menu."

"You mean, hellish training menu," Hyuuga says in a flat monotone voice.

"Hey!"

Kuroko, who's walking behind his senpai-tachi, just cracks a small smile watching them. He loves observing his senpai-tachi and hanging out with them. They are fun, kind, and sometimes, could be very noisy too. Not that he really minds about it. After all, it's been awhile he doesn't hang out with his teammates.

Just like he did back in Teikou days.

"But, really. My back is aching!" Izuki stretches his body. "Shitty backache—ah, shitty backache—shitty, shiitake mushroom!" another lame pun escapes Izuki.

"Could you please stop making puns?" the captain asks.

"Why? It's a good one! Izuki, good job!" Kiyoshi shows thumbs up, putting on a goofy smile.

Izuki slows down his pace to Kuroko's pace, walking next to him, "But, it was a miracle that Kuroko didn't pass out today. Are you sure you're okay?" Izuki asks him.

Kuroko doesn't answer. He widens his eyes instead.

He remembers Kise once asked him the same question too.

"_It was a miracle that Kurokocchi didn't pass out today. Are you sure you're okay, Kurokocchi?" Kise asked him, showing his concern._

"_I'm fine, Kise-kun. I'm not that weak," he answers._

"_Ma~~ If Kurokocchi doesn't feel well, I can carry you!" Kise's brown eyes sparkled; his face was just few inches away from Kuroko's._

_Kuroko knitted his eyebrows and walked past Kise instead. But, Kise caught up with him again and threw his arm around Kuroko's shoulder._

"_Don't be shy-shy boy! C'mon, Kurokocchi! I know you're tired!" Kise pulled Kuroko closer to him._

"Kuroko?" Izuki's voice snaps him back to reality.

Kuroko shakes his head. Izuki shoots him a worry look. Even Mitobe looks worried. To sooth his senpai-tachi's hearts, Kuroko wears a smile, "I'm fine, Izuki-senpai," and nods at Mitobe.

"Are you sure, Kuroko-kun?" his coach asks worriedly, "If you're tired, we can go home now. Kagami-kun will accompany you home."

"No, I'm fine. Really," then, he eyes Kagami standing next to him. The redhead raises an eyebrow. Kagami gets it and lets out a sigh.

"He said he's fine, right?" Kagami says nonchalanty. "So, you don't have to worry about him. He'll be fine," and Kagami continues walking.

"_He said he's fine, right?"Aomine suddenly chipped in. "So, you don't have to worry about him. He'll be fine."_

"_But, Aominecchi~ I'm worried about Kurokocchi!" whined Kise dramatically. Kuroko had to cover his ears from getting assaulted by his voice._

"_I think you should be more worried about yourself, Kise," the ace of Teikou smirked, earning a puzzle look from the blond. "'Cause you owe me an ice-cream."_

"_Eeeeehhhh?!" Kise screamed._

"_We have a deal, remember? You lost playing 1-on-1 against me, so you must buy me ice-cream!" Aomine grinned broadly. Kuroko just heaved a sigh of relief when Kise finally let him go to whining._

'_Thank you, Aomine-kun,' he mouthed as he watched his teammates bicker at each other._

"Thanks, Kagami-kun," he whispers and catches up with Kagami's pace.

Seeing Kuroko look perfectly fine, Riko, Izuki and Mitobe exchange looks before deciding to let their kouhai slide this time.

"Anyway," Riko changes the topic. "We are gonna have a training camp next week!"

Everyone's shocked—even Kuroko's eyebrow twitches a little. They don't expect that at all. Having a training camp means another trip to hell.

"Wa—wait! You didn't even discuss about this with me at all!" Hyuuga splutters, sweats dripping off his face. "I'm the captain, right?!"

"Hm~? If I told you, you wouldn't agree. Not with our limited budget," Riko tells him.

"Because we have limited budget that I must know about it!" the clutch shooter exclaims. Riko just chuckles and puts on her not-so-innocent look.

"Don't worry, don't worry," Riko tries to assure them. "I've managed everything. Place, date, transportation. Everything!" she smiles happily, but it slowly dissolves, "But, I have to admit, I've sacrificed something for it."

"And that something is…?" Koganei drawls.

"Our food expanses!" she simply answers.

Heavy, brooding silence falls between them. Everyone doesn't move from their places, standing aghast. Riko's still smiling broadly from ear to ear. Until Kagami breaks the silence.

"That means… you're gonna cook… for us?" his voice is thick.

Riko nods happily.

"No! Your cooking is the worst! No! We're gonna die! Kami-sama!" Hyuuga panics, body trembling, face draining its color. The statement even makes Kiyoshi wipe off his goofy smile and shiver in fear.

"Hey, my cooking skills aren't that bad!" she shouts.

"_Hey, my cooking skills aren't that bad!" Momoi shouted._

"_Yeah, yeah, yeah~ You wanna see a proof? Look at Kise's face," Aomine pointed at the blond. Indeed, he turned pale when the topic hit his eardrums. No way in hell he'd want to taste Momoi's cooking._

"_Ki-chan! If you agree with his words, I won't lend you money!" the pink haired girl puffed out her cheeks._

"_Eeehh?! No! I'm broke! You know Aominecchi loves to eat expansive ice-cream!" cried Kise._

"_Then, retort back!" she barked._

"_Uhm~ fine. Momoicchi's cooking is the best!" Kise faked a cheer voice, throwing his hands up._

"_Kise-kun, good guys don't tell lies," Kuroko said, striding off towards the convenience store ahead._

"Ah, I see the store already!" Koganei quickly changes the topic and runs off.

Kuroko assesses the convenience store. It looks exactly the same store that he used to go when he was in Teikou. 'I wonder if the inside is same too,' he thinks to himself as he enters the store.

And surprisingly, it's same too. Kuroko looks around. The arrangement, shelves, items, they're all same. Absently, his face breaks into a smile. Kuroko picks up a bottle of Pocari.

"Pocari, huh? Kuroko has a weird taste," his senpai, Kiyoshi ruffles his hair while holding a snack.

"_Pocari, huh? Kuro-chin has a weird taste," Murasakibara ruffled his blue hair._

"_I don't want to hear that from you, Murasakibara-kun," Kuroko pushed gently his hand off his head. "Murasakibara-kun also has a weird taste."_

"_No, I'm not," the giant remarked._

"_Yes, you are, Murasakibara-kun," Kuroko faced him, lifting his head up to match their eyes. "You always eat weird flavors."_

"_Hm~? But, if not, I wouldn't know any new flavors. It's boring eating same flavors every day," Murasakibara replied in a sleepy voice. "And your taste isn't normal too, Kuro-chin."_

"_Yours is weirder, Murasakibara," Kuroko walked away to pay the drink._

"Yours is weirder, Kiyoshi-senpai," Kuroko smiles.

"Oh, really? I didn't even realize about it at all," the center of Seirin laughs happily, scratching his head.

"Let's go to cashier, Kiyoshi-senpai," the teal haired boy suggests, gesturing to the cashier. Kiyoshi gratefully joins Kuroko.

Suddenly, Kuroko's ears catch some noise not far from them. It's Koganei's voice.

"C'mon, Koganei. We can buy it tomorrow," Izuki says. "It's not their fault for not selling your favorite manga here."

Mitobe raises his hands in defense, shaking his hand worriedly. He eyes Kuroko and waves his hand to get some help.

"No! It's important for me!" Koganei shouts.

"_No! It's important for me!" Midorima shouted._

"_C'mon, Midorimacchi. We can find it tomorrow," Kise tilted his head a little._

"_You can buy it tomorrow, Midorin," Momoi pleaded._

"_No!" the shooter shook his head quickly, still panicking, "I've gotta buy it tonight! Because it's my tomorrow's lucky item!"_

_Kuroko would never understand why Midorima wanted to make fuss over it. It was just a pink kitten doll and unfortunately for Midorima the store didn't sell them. Kuroko gave a sigh watching Midorima cry and shout like a crazy guy._

"_It's fine, Midorima-kun," Kuroko tapped Midorima's shoulder. The green haired teen snapped his head back._

"_I'm sure Kise-kun will help you buy it before going to school," Kuroko added; his ears caught a high-pitched scream escaping Kise._

"It's fine, Koganei-senpai," Kuroko taps Koganei's shoulder, "I'll help you buy it tomorrow," he offers.

And Koganei jumps to hug Kuroko, screaming at Kuroko's ears, saying, "Kuroko's the best! Kuroko's the best!"

Despite of having some difficulties to breath, Kuroko pats his senpai's back to calm him down. Kagami pulls Koganei away from Kuroko and drags his senpai to Mitobe. The teal haired boy coughs and massages his chest.

"You're okay?" Kagami asks.

"Yes, thank you, Kagami-kun," he says before straightening up his body again. Kagami just shrugs his shoulder and walks off.

After they finished paying, the Seirin basketball team gathers in front of the store. Riko's complaining about them being so slow and Hyuuga retorts back, saying that it's the cashier's fault or something like that. Kiyoshi has sparkles in his eyes when he fishes a snack out of the plastic bag. Mitobe's still calming the crying Koganei down. A satisfied smile is plastered across Izuki's face when he takes out a joke book. And Kagami's munching his way through a full of huge palm of snacks.

'It feels so familiar.' Kuroko thinks.

Then, Kuroko clocks a huge plastic bag that Hyuuga's carrying, "Captain, I've never seen you shopping this much."

"Ah, this?" Hyuuga sways the plastic bag. "It's for party later."

"Party? What party?" he asks.

"Oh, you don't know?" Hyuuga widens his eyes. "Your bir—MMPHH!" he breaks off his saying when Kiyoshi suddenly stuffs snacks into his mouth.

Kuroko's blue eyes go huge.

Hyuuga pushes Kiyoshi away and scowls, "What's that for, Kiyoshi?!"

_Akashi pushed Murasakibara away and scowled, "What's that for, Atsushi?"_

"_Just wanna let you taste this new flavor," Murasakibara lied and Kuroko knew about it. Meanwhile, Kise raised a finger to his lips, directing to Akashi._

_As if Akashi knew what he meant, Akashi just brushed Murasakibara's action off, "I'll forgive you this time, Atsushi."_

"_Ne~ let's go to a restaurant!" Momoi quickly suggested, not wanting to see the tension rising between them. Aomine shrugged lazily, showing he had no objection. Kise nodded quickly and Midorima muttered 'Fine' under his breath. Akashi had set his feet on, heading towards a restaurant nearby, while Murasakibara tailed the captain._

_Kuroko had no option when Momoi hugged his arm, pulling him along._

Realization hits him back when he feels someone dragging him. He glances up and he's greeted with red hair. "Kagami-kun…"

Kagami whips his head, eyes glaring at Kuroko, "Seriously, Kuroko. What's wrong with you today? You're not being yourself."

"Sorry, Kagami-kun," Kuroko murmurs as he pulls his hand from Kagami's grip. "I feel like having déjà vu or something like that."

"You're talking nonsense, Kuroko," Kagami pivots on his heels. "C'mon, they're waiting."

"Who?"

"Senpai-tachi, of course," the redhead says, "You were walking too slow that we didn't even realize you were left behind. So, I had to go back to you."

"Sorry again, Kagami-kun," Kuroko furrows his eyebrows. He doesn't have any intention to trouble people looking for him. And yet, it's happening.

"Just forget about it," Kagami mutters.

"Where're we heading to?" Kuroko asks, walking side by side with Kagami.

"My house."

…

"You wait here," Kagami raises his hand before knocking the door loudly. "He's here!" he shouts.

Kuroko can't help but wonder what they are doing behind the closed door. Moreover, it seems that Kagami just gave them some sort of signal.

Then, the redhead gestures to the door and provides Kuroko some spaces to move. Kuroko shoots a question look but Kagami just shrugs it off.

Cautiously, Kuroko clasps the doorknob and turns it.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KUROKO!" a delight scream hits Kuroko's ears. Kuroko freezes. He looks around. Everyone is smiling, laughing, and even shouting 'Congratulation, Kuroko!' Then, Riko appears in front of him with a cake in her hands.

"Seriously, Kuroko-kun. If Kagami-kun didn't tell us earlier that today's your birthday, we would've missed it," she says.

Kuroko stands there, speechless for a few minutes. Then, suddenly, a small laugh escapes him. His shoulders heave as he laughs. Kagami leans closer, asking "Are you really okay, Kuroko?"

"No… I'm fine," Kuroko holds out his hand, trying to suppress his laugh. Heck, his stomach is hurt because of laughing too much. He knows his teammates are worried about him, but he can't help but continue laughing.

'No wonder they're same. Those memories… Kise-kun's and Izuki-senpai's concern… Aomine-kun's and Kagami-kun's little help… Momoi-san's and Kantoku's cooking skills… Murasakibara-kun's and Kiyoshi-senpai's weird tastes… Midorima-kun's and Kagonei-senpai's cries… and yeah, both Akashi-kun and Captain almost spilled out the beans… They're same… Just like on my birthday last year…'

"_HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KUROKOCCHI!" Kise's voice echoed through the restaurant as he handed Kuroko a small box._

"_Eh?"_

"_Today's your birthday, right?" Aomine said, placing a gift on the table. "Don't tell me you've forgotten your own birthday."_

"_Can't believe you forgot your own birthday," Midorima adjusted his glasses, putting a book in front Kuroko._

"_Tetsu-kun never talks about his birthday. Luckily, I checked our name list and found out that today's Tetsu-kun's birthday." Momoi gave Kuroko a warm hug and a bag of cookies._

"_Sac-chin's cookies taste horrible. Here, eat my cake, Kuro-chin," Murasakibara pushed a big box to Kuroko, pushing away Momoi's cookies in its way._

"_You should be grateful to have me celebrating your birthday, Tetsuya," Akashi maintained his composure, a box was already placed in front of him._

_Kuroko remained looking thoughtfully at the presents for a minute, then looked up, matching his blue eyes with theirs. Slowly, his face broke into a smile._

"_Thank you, minna."_

"Hey, Kuroko," Kagami's voice puts an end to his trip down memory lane.

Kuroko looks up and flashes a smile.

"Thank you, minna."

* * *

'The clock is running. Make the most of today. Time waits for no man. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present.'

Alice Morse Earle

* * *

**A/N:** Thank you for reading. I posted this on tumblr, but a friend of mine suggested to post it here too. Anyway, happy belated birthday, dear Kuroko.


End file.
